Breakdown of NHS waiting lists funding: FOI release

Information requested

In relation to the £300m of funding announced in October 2023 to drive down NHS waiting lists (https://www.gov.scot/news/first-instalment-of-gbp-300-million-to-reduce-waiting-times/) 

• To date (Sept 2 2024), how much of this fund has been invested towards the purpose of cutting waiting lists?
• Please provide as detailed a breakdown as possible of how the money spent so far has been allocated

Response

As part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to reduce waiting times, significant activity is already underway following an initial, additional £30 million investment to target backlogs, announced in the spring1.

This will see around 12,000 new outpatient appointments, around 12,000 inpatient procedures and over 40,000 diagnostic procedures delivered2. A breakdown of the committed funding is shown in the table. The final allocations will be made to respective NHS boards following delivery of the activity. 

We will continue to work with all NHS boards to maximise current resources and productivity (see recent answer to parliamentary question3).

Specialty	Committed funding (rounded)
Cancer	£2,750,000
Dermatology	£2,150,000
Endoscopy	£60,000
Ear, Nose & Throat	£950,000
Gastroenterology	£20,000
General Surgery	£330,000
Gynaecology	£470,000
Imaging	£6,900,000
Neurology	£200,000
Ophthalmology	£1,900,000
Orthopaedics	£7,160,000
Paediatrics	£170,000
Endoscopy	£5,740,000
Urology	£800,000
Cardiology	£400,000
Total	£30,000,000

References

1. www.gov.scot/news/first-instalment-of-gbp-300-million-to-reduce-waiting-times/ 
2. www.gov.scot/news/30-million-to-reduce-waiting-times/
3. www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/questions-and-answers/question?ref=S6W-29287 

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